Arts in Action

Our Young Activist Leaders Program (YALP) participants are putting together “Arts in Action”, a virtual gallery of social justice art. We invite young people up to 25 years of age to submit performance audio or video (music, dance, speeches, slam poetry) up to 5 min in length, visual art (in any media), or writing (5 page max in any genre). Each week, we will announce a new theme and publish work to our social media and website. See flier below and submit at the form on this page! Contact us with further questions by email here.

Share with someone you think should submit work on Facebook or check out our highlighted story on Instagram @peacejusticeaction.

Themes

SOLIDARITY

We hear more about solidarity all the time during this pandemic, but what does it look like? Solidarity is the idea that we are all co-dependent across our place in society and that if we can learn to act together across our shared interest, we can make amazing things happen. This quote from Martin Luther King Jr. shares the other side of the solidarity coin, too. He said, “We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.” What does living together as siblings mean in this time, to you?

How do we learn to act as if what happens to one of us, happens to all of us? Here are a couple more quotes to inspire you in the prompt this week:

“Solidarity is based on the principle that we are willing to put ourselves at risk to protect each other.” -Starhawk

“A sense of solidarity among 15-30 year olds would be a menace to civilized society even in the best of times” -Steven Pinker

THIS IS OUR COUNTRY

America is great in some ways- and not in others. We don’t always live up to the ideals of democracy expressed and publicized by leaders of the past and present –our history is as filled with examples of injustice as it is with amazing stories of courage and innovation. Despite the concept of the American Dream, we know there is not always “liberty and justice for all.” We want to know how you see the country–the good and the bad–as the people who will shape its future. Share your artwork in any medium to join the conversation!

“I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.” –James Baldwin

INTO THE FUTURE:

Do you know what you want the world to look like in a year? 5 years? 1,000 years? From climate to war, this could be a prediction, or an ideal setting for you in the future regarding anything you care about in the realm of social justice. Remember setting is not only what we see and the ground we walk on, but the way we think!

“The only thing that makes life possible is permanent, intolerable uncertainty: not knowing what comes next.” -Ursula K. LeGuin